First day of Raucci trial starts with jury selection

Ronald DeAngelus, defense attorney for Steven Raucci, walks out of the Schenectady County Courthouse at the end of the first day of jury selection for Raucci's trial on terrorism and arson charges on Monday. (Philip Kamrass/Times Union)

Here’s an update from Schenectady reporter Paul Nelson:

At times, the line of people waiting to offer explanations to the judge and attorneys on why they couldn’t serve on the Steven Raucci jury stretched from the jury room behind the judicial bench into the courtroom gallery.

That scene played out Monday at the Schenectady County Courthouse where Steven Raucci’s trial on arson and terrorism charges will unfold over the next month.

“We are looking for people who are open-minded and fair to both sides,” Judge Polly A. Hoye told the first group after swearing them in. But before District Attorney Robert Carney and Raucci’s attorney, Ronald DeAngelus, offer their opening arguments, the jury screening must run its course.

So, in a process that could last throughout the week, hundreds of prospective jurors must ponder three critical questions: Do they have a month to spare? Can they be fair and impartial? And have they or any relative of theirs ever worked for the city school district?

Hoye, a Fulton County judge and surrogate who is an acting Schenectady County judge, posed those questions Monday to more than 200 potential jurors before meeting in the jury room out of public view individually with those unable to make the commitment. Raucci, DeAngelus, and Carney were present for the one-on-one talks with the potential jurors.

In the first group, 18 people were selected for a second round of questioning at some future time. Sixteen passed muster from second group, after which Hoye remarked: “We can’t emphasize the importance of selecting the right jurors for this case.”

The screening of a third group was halted and will conclude today. The court had planned to get through four groups of 80 prospective jurors on Monday. Summons went out to nearly 700 county residents, according to the Commissioner of Jurors office.

Court officials said some pre-trial hearings to determine the admissibility of evidence are also scheduled Tuesday.

Raucci, 61, of Niskayuna, who has been in jail since his arrest in February 2009, is charged with slashing tires, planting quarter sticks of dynamite on windows and door handles and spray-painting the homes of people who he perceived as enemies over a span of 16 years. He is charged with waging his alleged terror campaign in Rotterdam, Clifton Park, Schodack, Colonie and Glenville.

The accusations have rocked the school district and led to lawsuits that accuse district officials of allowing Raucci to carry out his alleged misdeeds and even rewarding him out of fear that he might go after them. The district conducted its own probe into his workplace behavior then, despite protests from the media, decided not release the report.